Letter: Horseheads district sent wrong message

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Chance Cook / staff video

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School walk out of school March 14 to honor the memories of 17 classmates that were killed during a mass shooting at the school in Parkland, Florida. The students joined others around the country to mark the one month anniversary of the shooting with a National Walk out day.(Photo: Getty Images)

On March 14, the day of the national student walkout to protest school violence, the Horseheads School District had the perfect opportunity to let students know that the administration and adults in the district had their backs and that civil disobedience, done the right way, can empower young people.

Instead, the district restricted students’ freedom of speech in the name of “protecting education.” This could have been a real teaching moment for students and make them feel like they are part of the national dialogue. Instead, they sat in the auditorium for yet another moment of silence. And when they checked social media or turned on the news, what did they see? Thousands and thousands of students and adults across the country feeling empowered, and thinking that they had a voice and might be part of the solution.

The district administration invoking their legal obligation is disingenuous and standard practice for those that are scared of any change in status quo. And it obviously is not true, as other districts across the state decided against disciplining students who decided to participate.

Let’s hope that when our students become the school administrators and voters of the future, they see this as a teaching moment on how not to behave.